A Newmarket mom of two young children is bracing herself for eviction from her basement apartment that could force the family into homelessness during a pandemic.
Steph, who asked that her last name be withheld for fear of retaliation from her landlord, said she's grief-stricken about what the future holds when she loses the one-bedroom apartment she’s called home for the last five years in the Stonehaven neighbourhood.
“I’m actually terrified. If it was just me, I know it sounds bad, but I wouldn’t be as scared because I could live on the street if I absolutely have to, I think any adult probably could,” she said. “But when you have two kids, that’s not even a question, not even a thought, you have to have a roof (over your head).”
Steph's landlord served her with 60 days notice to vacate the rental unit by Aug. 31 as they want the space back for their own use. In an ideal world, Steph said she would like to continue living in her apartment until she finds other housing. She said she “just needs more time”.
The young mother has been hard-pressed to find another apartment that she can afford on her fixed low income, in Newmarket or elsewhere in York Region. She considers herself “very lucky” to have found the one she has lived in for five years for $1,000 a month.
Now with two children, Steph is looking for a two-bedroom apartment but the high cost of housing means the price of entry begins at about $1,600 a month-plus, more than her budget can bear.
Steph has been on the waitlist of York Region’s social housing provider, Housing York, for many years, but an affordable apartment could still be a long way off.
At the end of 2018, more than 16,000 households were on the waitlist for housing, with just 301 landing a place to call home, according to a regional report. And, with a local vacancy rate that hovers around 2 per cent, rental units are in high demand.
“I’m fighting this eviction because in Newmarket and York Region, the housing prices are ridiculous, I cannot afford anything,” Steph said in frustration. “But if the landlord decides he wants me out by a certain date, and the landlord and tenant board agree, I will be homeless with two children. I’ve been living here for five years, my kids have grown up here, we have roots here.”
A temporary ban on residential evictions put in place early in the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure no one was forced to leave their home has since ended. Evictions have been allowed to proceed as of Aug. 4, 2020.
A new set of rental rules passed into law at the end of July 2020 known as the Protecting Tenants and Strengthening Community Housing Act, or Bill 184, is meant to better protect tenants and landlords, in part, by allowing the parties to negotiate rent arrears repayment plans on their own to avoid evictions as the pandemic drags on, according to the Ontario government.
“The Attorney General will continue to work with tenants, landlords, the Landlord and Tenant Board, and all of our partners to support a safe and gradual recovery of our province,” municipal affairs and housing ministry spokesperson Praveen Senthinathan said.
But that legislation dubbed the “eviction bill” by tenants has been widely panned by tenant advocates and activists, who say evictions can now be fast-tracked for such things as a tenant defaulting on a repayment plan made outside of a hearing.
It is more important than ever that renters know their rights and pursue them when they have a problem, tenant advocates say.
Locally, lawyer and housing team lead for the Community Legal Clinic of York Region Lee Webb said the agency has seen an increase in the number of calls from tenants in the weeks since evictions have been permitted to continue.
“From my own experience, it hasn’t necessarily been arrears, it has been as much for landlord’s own use reasons as for anything else,” said Webb, who also delivers information sessions about Bill 184 to area social workers.
Anecdotally, Webb said area social workers have been referring clients out of York Region for housing if they are on social assistance programs such as Ontario Works and Ontario Disability Support because rental units for those on low incomes are becoming more scarce.
Webb has studied the types of applications filed at the landlord and tenant board over the past five years and said there’s been a steady uptick in the number of no-fault evictions for reasons that include a landlord or purchaser want the unit for their own use or to renovate, repair, or demolish it.
He said no-fault evictions have gone up between one and three per cent every year since 2014. And new rules brought in by the provincial government in 2017 that require landlords to pay compensation to tenants for landlord’s own use evictions has only accelerated those types of applications at the landlord and tenant board.
“The concern we have is that those (legislative) changes might not have the effect that the province is looking for to reduce this type of application because there’s such a huge incentive for landlords now, both big and small, to try to displace sitting tenants in order to raise the rent, or redevelop the property,” he added.
“It looks like it’s really the price of housing that is driving these types of no-fault evictions rather than any barriers that the province puts up to landlords doing these sorts of evictions,” Webb said.
An exacerbating factor, said Webb, is that landlords now feel like they have to get top dollar for their unit rather than getting a return that is part of a service they provide to the tenant.
“When you buy some shoes, for example, the seller is going to be charging you what it costs plus some profit, but they are also going to make sure the experience is pleasant and the interaction is as positive as it can be,” said Webb. “Not all landlords, particularly those that end up at the landlord and tenant board, have that service mindset.”
But Ontario government spokesperson Senthinathan explained that it is an offence for a landlord to evict a tenant without following the proper eviction process. Tenants have a right to stay in their unit until the landlord and tenant board issues an eviction order, said Senthinathan. And, an eviction order can only be enforced by the sheriff.
The provincial housing ministry spokesperson declined to comment on whether it was considering additional tenant protections for those who may be at risk of homelessness during the ongoing pandemic if they lose their housing.
Senthinathan noted that fines for landlords who break the rules and tenant compensation have both been strengthened. For example, maximum fines for Residential Tenancy Act offences have increased to $50,000 for an individual and $250,000 for a corporation.
As well, in cases of bad-faith evictions, the board can order a tenant up to an additional 12 month’s rent in compensation.
Landlords must also disclose to the landlord and tenant board if they have previously filed for an eviction for their own use or to renovate the unit, to help adjudicators look for patterns and identify landlords who may be breaking the law.
Webb said no-fault grounds of eviction are particularly challenging to deal with in today’s market where housing costs are so high.
“There’s been an increase in the number of illegal rooming houses as a result to fill that need, which is cheaper, but the tenants are extremely vulnerable,” he said.
The local affordable housing crisis is a drum the Social Planning Council of York Region continues to bang as it promotes housing as a human right and increased access to affordable rentals.
In early 2020, the council was instrumental in spearheading a new housing coalition now known as the Affordable Housing Coalition of York Region. It includes among its members community activists, advocates for the homeless, faith leaders, politicians, educators, frontline workers, and other concerned citizens.
“We’ve started to get momentum, it’s quite a groundswell of support at this point,” coalition member Lori Yacato said, adding that 20 new members have recently joined. “There’s a large group of people all with the same goal who really are concerned and we bring them together once a month, along with guest speakers who share their knowledge with us.”
The coalition says it has a mandate to explore the best and most viable options for affordable housing, such as housing models, legislative changes, and advocating for tenants’ rights.
“Bill 184 actually puts us way behind where our goals are,” said council co-chairperson Yvonne Kelly. “So, it would be better if the (Ontario government) could continue the moratorium and not pretend that these repayment agreements are realistic for someone who has been without an income, or lost or had their income reduced, this is only going to lead to a lot of homelessness.”
Tenant advocates estimate that about 10 per cent of vulnerable renters could become homeless under the province’s new rules.
“In York Region, that’s about 15,000 people, and that’s a lot of new people who will be at risk of becoming homeless,” Kelly said. “So, we’re trying to fight the homelessness problem on one hand, but we’re going to implement a Bill that makes it seem like a win-win for the landlords and tenants when, in fact, what it’s going to do is put a lot of people out on the street.”
Other planning council and housing coalition members agree. They also cite racism and discrimination against racialized people and the stigma associated with social assistance as barriers to safe and affordable housing.
“If somebody is on (Ontario Disability Support Program), is Indigenous, or coming from a racialized background, they’re being denied housing,” said Josie Rose, who works with community agency York Support Services Network, which offers case management and crisis services to individuals with a developmental disability or mental illness.
“Even when we say the rent money is guaranteed, landlords still don’t want it because of stigma and racism,” Rose said.
The coalition applauds the early August 2020 announcement that Newmarket will be home to a 216-unit purpose-built apartment building touted as affordable to most, off Davis Drive, just east of Yonge Street, thanks to $79 million in federal government financing.
“Every possible solution is needed, but we also need to think about if housing is a human right, and Canada has signed on with the United Nations Convention, how do we actualize that and concretely make sure that is something that becomes a reality for everyone,” Kelly said.
The housing coalition has launched a social media awareness campaign promoting housing as a human right. You can learn more about the Right2Housing York Region here.
You can follow the work of the Social Planning Council of York Region here and at its website.
If you are a tenant who has concerns in Newmarket or elsewhere in York Region, here are some resources:
